Martin Heidegger

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German existentialist philosopher who was one of the most influential voices and foremost thinkers and writers of the 20th century; he exerted an enormous influence. From 1922 he taught and from April 1933 was Chancellor of the University. With the publication of his first book, "Being and Time," 1927, he achieved instant fame as one of the spokesmen of 20th century existentialism. Heidegger was one who saw no alternative to the Third Reich if Germany were to survive. He had an early flirtation with National Socialism, joining the Nazi Party in 1933 but was generally thought to be disenchanted with Hitler. However, Victor Fairas in his book "Heidegger and Nazism" charged that Heidegger was a lifelong anti-Semite and a devoted party member. Another account read that at the height of his teaching career, he was forced to resign by the National Socialist Party because he forbade anti-Semitic propaganda at the University and refused to dismiss two anti-Nazi deans. His dalliance with Nazism, though relatively short-lived, has made biographical considerations central to the evaluation of his intellectual worth. He resigned as Nazi rector of Freiburg University after a year in office, however throughout the '30s, he continued to open his classes with the German greeting, "Heil Hitler." The Third Reich was not at all interested in metaphysics or the "question of Being" that absorbed Heidegger, but by then, the damage had been done, and the shadow of a Nazi past would never be obliterated from Heidegger's image. He married in 1917 and had two sons and a foster daughter. Highly reclusive, he was averse to traveling outside of his native home in Baden, particularly avoiding any traffic in big cities. Comfortable in nature, he often made hiking expeditions. He died on 5/26/1976, Freiburg, Germany Link to Wikipedia biography